keep their leverage. >> we continue watching and will follow you on twitter at sarahn ferris. but you so much, sarah. next hour, and exclusive. our cities tour visits saratoga springs new york. haveeven years now, we traveled to u.s. cities, bringing the letter terracing -- literary scene to our viewers. you can watch on c-span.org/see least for -- cspan. org/citiestour. founded in 1883 as a historical society and saratoga. show theon is to

history relating to the city specifically. the exhibit where going to be going through is our orientation exhibit tells the story of the city of saratoga springs all the way up to the 20th century. the first part of the exhibit where going to look at is saratoga springs and prehistoric times through the 18th-century. at the most important things about saratoga is the spring water. it of americans visited here for hundreds of years because they felt that the water had healing properties. built up from mineral deposits. drank theme here, water, and also hunted in the areas around saratoga lake. this part of the exhibition has many artifacts related to native americans, some dating back to thousands of years that were found along the lake itself. when artifact we like to show is a piece of the deposit from high rock springs.

if you visit today, it looks , volcanoes.little it is a buildup of the mineral springs. people the 19th century, would visit and chip pieces away as souvenirs, so this actually is ap somebody had as a souvenir, and were able to get back and keep it as an exhibit. in the 1780's, the first entrepreneur really developed and saratoga was putnam. he built in 1802 on what is now broadway on saratoga. we have an article that dates back to the building, it is my personal favorite of the collection. it is eight have earned sign that we have. the time depicts a relative of theirs, israel putnam. it says that he is going down to a whole were a wolf had crawled down at.

had been after sheep in the town's pastures. he shot the wolf, and pulled it out with his bare hands. this is important to the family and the community that the hometown in connecticut, there are historical markers talking about this. this in their tavern signs, and that is what you would have seen if you are a traveler coming down to downtown saratoga soda springs -- sarasota springs. this is a portrait of dr. john steele. he did the first treatment on the mineral waters in saratoga. took samples of the many minerals and analyzed what minerals and contents each spring had area it was determined that depending on what your ailment was, you could drink a different spring to treat that. you could come to saratoga

springs to drink the healthy water. therewas an opera house, were place, there were dense as he could attend, and are the things you would do for fun, which included gambling and horseracing. this area of the exhibit focuses on the spring water, because that is what we are here for. in this area we have original water bottles. off, and hascourt the original water in it, from i would guess 1870. this is called a dipper. bethe springs, there would boys and girls who would work, but differ into the water, give you a drink, and then you would give them a tip. here is a photograph of a dipper boy working on the springs. if you came to saratoga springs, the mineral water was always free and the springs.

and ruledraditional that had started in the early 19th century. a you were to purchase bottle, it would be expensive, and that is something that but saratoga on the map. the bottles of mineral water or should all over the world in the 19th century. diuretiche springs had properties and worked as a laxative. it worked as 19th century medicine. might come here from the south, or you might come from new york city, and your going to have a prescription from your doctor. the doctors went and use these , and theyf the water would say, ok, in the morning you're going to go to this spring and then follow up with a brisk walk. createthis was to try to a healthy body, but also alleviate any digestive issues might have.

saratoga springs had a history of gambling. in the late 19th century, we had gentlemen gamblers went to club houses that were owned by some of the wealthiest men in america. after their closures in the 20th century, we have a. where gambling quieted down a little bit, but then in the 1920's and 1930's, that is when the gangsters came into saratoga springs. the most famous to come here was our lord rothstein -- arnold rothstein. he came to the brook, and the brook was on the outskirts of the city. model -- they would have high and entertainment in the front rooms, and the back rooms is where the gambling would take place. gambling was always a legal in saratoga springs, everybody look

at other way on this. there was a story on the brook, and i believe it is in the 1930's where there was going to be a police raid, the police went to the front door, they knock on the door, and said that they have to check the place out. they went into the brook, they went room after room, and he didn't find anything. they went to the third floor, and there was a locked door. d'said that we would appreciate it if you did not going to that room. everybody agreed, the police left, and the police say that within a half hour, the police said it was operating within a half hour. these places drew a lot of money and saratoga. were aestigations federal inquiry into gambling in saratoga springs.

that essentially shut down all of the gambling here. and the demise of gambling, with the northway 87 that would buy the city, tourist no longer had to drive straight by saratoga springs, they could drive by us and drive through adirondacks. we had massive hotels that could host thousands of thousands of people, more than we have today. so this started to decline, we started to call this the. of decline and saratoga, and it continued until 1966. that is when the performing arts center came in. about the ballet and the philadelphia orchestra, and that started to revert throughout the city. that started to bring income pensions -- bring in conventions.

the city revitalized itself, and even through the economic decline a few years ago, this part city was one of the few in the country that was still growing, and today still is. and now saratoga springs is a tourist destination, so we are of our city. it has had its ups and downs, but it is one of the proudest committees in the upstate. >> this is one of the only paces east of thees rockies that has natural spring water and the ground. it is a beautiful place for people to experience. a rare, geological thing.

here's where the park was first created as a's date reservation in 1909, and then became saratoga springs. many different mineral springs to enjoy, and 12 miles of hiking trails. there are 12 springs in the park, two of them are freshwater springs. there is a layer of sand that is anywhere between zero to a hundred feet, so they don't pick up those minerals. we also have mineral springs to route park, and a very in depth 2000 feet eight. depending on the depth, the taste go stronger depending on how deep they are. or -- welittle sprout have the iconic island sprout or as people come see.

have this back in the woods. there are a few mineral springs that are up near route 50 on the west side of the park. people come and visit -- you could see it from the railroads. spring.ngest all of our mineral water is carbonated, along with that, you have dry pockets of carbon gas pushing the water out of the earth. imagine if you should a sprite bottle and the air is compressed, and if you let it go, the pressure shoots out. none of these are technically geysers. hoters are propelled by water and steam, and none of our springs have hot water at all.

they run at a constant 55 degrees. springs are first believed to have been found by native americans who actually came to this place because of its hub -- good hunting grounds. the animals around here used the -- so it is interesting to think as the animals and the native americans here first, and then having them discover the mineral springs. they believe it had healing qualities to them, and in the late 1700s, they started to introduce it to white settlers to the spring and the healing properties. grewe late 1800s, saratoga , and there are many private, spring wells drilled. here.ody was coming in withody discovered that

the mineral springs, there was dry, carbonic pockets underneath the earth, and you could harbor that gas used in sodas, which were very popular in the victorian days. what happened was that we had these test companies come in, and mainly in these areas of the park, they started to drill wells that were very powerful. they actually depleted our mineral springs, to the point that if you had a private well, perhaps it was going dry, or at least going lower. some springs disappeared completely, and it was because of these drillers exploiting these springs. in 1909, the state reservation was completed in order to save the mineral springs, so that is the whole conservation story. at the time, i believe there were 200 wells operating, and we

shut all but 21 down. between 1900s and 1935, we had spasterest in creating here in the united states. there were spas in europe doing very well, so they wanted to see if it would work here in america. we sent scientists to study the spas, with the intent to create a spot here. was about was the governor at the time, and he had a hand in creating the spot complex that opened in july of 1935. it consisted of a place where you can drink the water, research laboratory, two bath houses, and a hotel. you would stay at the hotel for about two or three weeks,

on what illness you had, it would prescribe a water to you. , where therees -- people suffering from arthritis, they believe it would increase circulation or improve it. people would take a bath at the roosevelt bathhouse. spas hadte 1940's, the fuller bathhouses. year -- and then after the 1950's, it started to decline in popularity. people weren't willing to spend three days -- for three weeks at the spot. it was also new medicines being --ated, so the spot became the spot started to decline gradually.

saratoga springs is a very unique area. we have people visit from all over the world. we are one of the only properties that has natural, carbonated, mineral springs that come out of the ground for people to experience and enjoy. that is what makes saratoga what it is. it is the mineral springs. people have to experience them, in order for people to keep hearing about the springs. here are going to drive up to historic congress park and take a right onto broadway. the park is by far one of the jewels of the city of saratoga, not only because of its location, but because of the deep history of saratoga. we were the number one tourist 1800s, son in the

anybody that was anybody came to saratoga springs. >> while in saratoga springs, we took a driving tour with charlie. came because of one mainframe, it was all about the water. the founding location of the city of saratoga, that is called a high rock spring. visited forits -- thousands of years, and the native americans struck the water. the name is a native american term. >> you could still do from them, get water from them. the people still do that a lot from here? >> if you have been here for the majority -- there's a fair amount of bottling where people will bring containers and fill

those on a daily basis. we have 17 of them. there are different caps, different tastes. what you would expect to taste, it is not like bottled water or something from the tap. >> they have so many trace elements. you name it, there is a ton of different trace elements. as a result, these trace elements in -- along with a few other inherent salts, a very pungent taste. where guns drive up here and are going to- we drive around and loop around. look.'s take a >> these are the houses built in the 1800s as summer cottages. people would come to saratoga to go camping.

without question, almost any element of victorian architecture can be found here. we also have new homes found here along with those mixed in the 1800s. this became a destination for people in the 1800s to come to saratoga after the american civil war. they came to the waters, they .rank, they took baths eventually, as good americans, they became bored with their surroundings, and we added the gambling, the horseracing, and automotive. going downw we are broadway. what is this area now? we have shops, we have restaurants. >> it is a vibrant downtown. to the daily, weekly, and seasonal travelers. saratoga performance art center. that is really the center of the city that makes it happen. right, to the racetrack.

we are here at the racetrack. this is our oklahoma training track. there are no competitive races that are held here. this is strictly a facility of which the train. closen in mid-april, and in the first week of november. people come to saratoga springs, and one of the things that is common to enjoy in the morning is to come over here at first light, up until 10 a.m. in the forces --nd see the horses on the track. it is a real economic boom in saratoga. how did racing become popular in saratoga? waters,e came for the and became bored with just being healthy, and needed some type of

outlet. in 1863, a group of men led by john morrissey, who was also responsible for the building of our casinos -- he brings the idea of racing in saratoga. just a couple of days in august in 1864, -- starting the construction of the present-day track took place. on theoing to drive backside of the track and give you an idea as we look across from the last, just a layout of our thorough bed -- thoroughbred track. it is a beautiful track. .he facility there is great it is a historic track in the sense that it has not been modernized to the point that you could fit 150,000 there, you could put 50,000 in a very beautiful setting and look at it in the way it was operating in

the 1870's, early 1900s. >> what is the big race that ?akes place here are some ar what is the tracfone for? >> the travelers race. unfortunately, saratoga has gone heritageame of great champions. many the greatest forces have come here, only to meet with the feet. at came here after winning the triple crown, and secretariat lost to a horse here to a horse called ibm. i was there that day, and i couldn't believe my eyes. >> this looks like been her business. business. >> this is harness racing.

harness racing is a different variety of racing, because we are not restricted by the weight of the jockey. not the jockey writing on the horse, but being pulled by a little cart behind. this is a different type of racing. it generally doesn't get quite as much attention as the rebel racing.- through broad it became one of the fastest ovals in the country, and today it is backed up by what is 2300 slot machines, electronic gambling machines. >> would you like to see happen for your city next? >> i think that things are in works. there are people looking for ways to enhance for people visiting and people who come

here. i think the deadly problem of development in any city is that you don't want it to get out of control. you want growth, you are controlled growth. the schools are good, the environment is safe. the city is beautiful, and we have a true community in saratoga. anyork so hard, without real payback, except the satisfaction that are doing a good job in the city. all ofs life better for us, and the people for the generations to come. >> thank you so much for showing us around. >> you are welcome, it is my pleasure. the new york times magazine said that the battles in saratoga were some of the most important titles fought in the entire world in the last 1000 years because they resulted in general but going's surrender area was the first time that a british army surrendered.

we are currently located in freeman's farm -- this is one of the places in the historic park where the battles of saratoga were fought in 1777 during the american war for independence. saratoga historic national park today consists of over 40 acres. it was established in 1948 as a park within the national park service system. the british army had a plan to defeat the american repair alien -- rebellion. the captured the city of albany -- from there, that army in the city of albany would operate from new york or throughout new england. and they would attack american forces fighting against them. the british set off from canada in june of 7077, and after months of campaigning, they traveled hundreds of miles, and eventually got here to saratoga

battlefield, located 30 miles north of the city of alberni. any. south,tish army, moved in expectation of engaging the american army commanded by horatio gates, in battle. the two armies collided here, on freeman's farm. the battle was in the bloodiest of the revolutionary war, but it was the longest. it started at 11:30 a.m., and lasted until 7:00 in the evening. the battle resulted in a british victory. battletish won the because they held the field of battle. the american army retreated because they had lost. the british, however, suffered more casualties than the u.s. did.

american casualties numbered about 300 and 20. so although it was an imperfect victory for the british, they still held the field of battle, the next day, the british army had to reorganize their forces. they had taken so many casualties on the day of the battle amongst a couple of the regiments that they had to reorganize things, and they needed a day of rest. they also needed to replenish their spent ammunition, and it took some time to do. the army of the united states had to do similar we organization of their forces, and also replenish ammunition among those forces sent to the battles of which consisted half of the american army. the next day was a day of rest for both armies. day, the 21st of

september, was a day of which nobody planned it, but timing resulted in a very day decisive event in history. that morning, the morning of the 21st of september, the british commander received a note from the british commander in the city of new york. note, written by the british commander in new york, -- that the going that he was prepared an attack, and created a diversion, a diversion he hoped would be in his favor. the general read this and responded to general clinton with the words, do it, my friend, directly. the strategy was that the diversion what have to split his force in half, so as to see the threat in the south, making it easier for the general to give battle to a weekend american army in the north of alberni,

and captured the city of alberni. at this moment, general decided to wait. so he began to set up his own camp, build fortifications on freeman's farm and the surrounding landscape, and he was waiting, waiting for to it and a half weeks. in that timeframe, no further word arrived in the general's hands. the general what send officers in secret to break through the american lines and deliver updates, but none of those messages ever got through. the general was isolated and in the dark of what was occurring but hef oualbany, waited for two weeks, hoping for something to occur. hoping his scouts what inform him that the american army was weekend.

that never occurred. note reinforcements were ever sent. instead, state militias were being ordered out by their state governments. massachusetts, and new york. when the battle of freeman's --m was fog, his army only , however, as the weeks wore on, by the time of the seventh of october, which was the day of the second battle of saratoga. horatio gates is army consisted of over 12,000 men. reinforcements were in the form of militia. strategy was gates' simple. his job was to defend albany from invasion. he did not try to battle his

army, what he wanted nothing more was for the british the british to turn tail, and to return to canada. retreated atever this time, and so horatio gates was waited for the british general to make the next move. by the time of the seventh of october, the general waited for two-and-a-half weeks for general clinton to do something in the hudson highlands. although clinton did attempt to make an attack on the hudson highlands, a successful attack, it drew note reinforcements from gates is army. from the spies was that the general's army was only increasing in strength. time was against the british general, it was isolated and losing men every day through attrition. and also, his food supplies were running lower and lower every day.

the general came to decide that yet to take things into his own hands, so he devised a plan that on the seventh of october, he would move out with 1500 officers and men. the forces would move towards horatio gates' camp. view theing to try to american lines of defense for himself. upon viewing the american lines of this -- from a distance, he would make a decision whether or appearattack, or if they to be too strong, he would go back to his cap, what -- wait a few more days. then, if nothing happened, he would get his retreat back to canada, from whence he came.

field.me upon a weak in fact, too weak fields against each other. his army needed that week. wheat his probing force lines up, sits ben and waits for this to finished so they can continue on their path south to the american line of defense. the american command was general burgoyne's movement. so horatio gates ordered an the british line at the wheat fields. the attack commences. it fails. general benedict arnold, horatio command, reports the situation to general gates and says, general gates, you send a stronger force. he then says, give me some men funwe shall have some

before sunset. general gates approves of the attack that general arnold devised. attackough the initial against the british line at the was unsuccessful, there was a massive attack in less than an hour the british beaten off the field, scattered with the americans in hot pursuit. the british all run, the survivors, anyway, run to the redo ut,ight infantry onortification built freeman's farm. the british get into that fortification and the americans make a mass attack on it but it's unsuccessful. however, other american forces will move north of the british infantry redout and strike whichman's entrenchment

consisted of not much more than defended by somewhere between 200 and 250 german shoulders and american loyalist soldiers. the defenses were overwhelmed from the front as well as from flank by american continental and militia forces. decisive moments in the attack on on the briman infrench. occurred right here where we're standing. -- rifle men rival from virginia and pennsylvania came up through the back flank fortification, which was completely open. the german defenders were caught unawares. the rifle men were joined by left thearnold who attack occurring by the light redout and rode here to be part of this attack. indeed, he was. attack wase brilliantly successful and american forces were able to site,e the fortification

the defenders retreated in a panic through the woods trying to save their own lives. benedict arnold himself was severely wounded in the left leg. this is the second time he was in the left leg during the war. after the second battle of over, general burgoyne realized his defensive were untenable and had no choice but to retreat back to the north. day onfollowing october 8, his army began to retreat. it eightonly made miles north of saratoga battlefield. american army commanded by general horatio gates was in hot pursuit. up general manner caught with burgoyne's army at a place as saratoga. general burgoyne gets into the sarsaratoga. to surrounds begins burgoyne's army. after a few days of siege and

general burgoyne surrendered on the 17th of october, 1777. this surrender is often called the turning point of the revolutionary war. a british army had never surrendered before, in the history of the world, before general burgoyne surrendered his as saratoga. saratoga was at major factor in bringing about the french alliance. envoys, ambassadors to france, trying to get the french to side with the united states but so far they were not biting, at least insofar as as an initial alliance. however, final with burgoyne's had that, our envoys piece they needed to bring about the french to convince them not only to recognize the united states as a real, legitimate country, but also to become our in february ofnd treatyhe french signed a of alliance and amity and

commerce and it's with this french alliance that we eventually won the revolutionary war. major battle engagement occurred in yorktown, virginia, 1781. most of the personnel on the american forces' side were actually french. we would not have won yorktown without french naval and army assistance. we would not have had french saratoga. without >> when grant arrived at the overlook, and here he is very beforely a few days left he passes away, and seeing this beauty, this valley that warfare,conflict and and where our nation was born, was now a peaceful valley where farmers were working and he must have taken some satisfaction in

a part of the great american story. we're at mount mcgregor in york.e new only a few miles north of saratoga springs. and the significance of this historic site is this was the final home of civil war general and president ulysses s. grant. and this is the place where ulysses grant penned his memoirs in 1885. he was dying of throat cancer. his family was facing serious financial problems. at this point in his life, he was a man trying to take care of his family. we get to tell a story here that most people don't know about. after his second term as president, ulysses grant and his wife julia went on a world tour

years, from 1877 to 1879. he met many world leaders. he was well respected around the world. when they arrived in the states in 1879, they were looking for a place to settle. because they'd come out of the white house two years earlier. for grant, it was always an easy decision, even though they owned multiple properties in the united states, the decision for grant, because he was always a devoted family man, was to be close to family. he chose the location where his young sons were living in new york city. so the grants moved into a home in the upper east side of manhattan. and their children lived nearby. they enjoyed a few years out of the limelight, enjoying the winters in new york city and summers with entire the family at their new jersey cottage. grant, when he arrived from his world tour, was in need of some income.

which was a head scratcher for most people because he was a general and people wonder why he didn't have a kind.n of some he had given up his pension to take the presidency. presidency,f his there was no pension at that time. so he was making his own way in the world. he had spent a lot of money on the world tour. his son, ulysses junior, buck, having been born in the buckeye state, got involved in wall street investment. he got his father involved. they formed a firm, an investment firm, with a man ward.ferdinand they named the firm grant & ward. investments went well for a while. money was coming in for the firm. everything started to collapse in the final year of grant's life. he ended up having a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk in new york city. that had him bedridden for a couple of weeks.

the spring of the officerived at of grant and ward and learned of crisis.financial fromd to get a loan vanderbilt for $150,000 to try to keep the firm afloat. he brought this money to their business partner, ferdinand ward, who had been doing the books the entire time, and thought this would have helped the firm survive. in fact, he found out soon afterwards that ward had been a crook, and he had essentially been running a ponzi scheme the entire time. and the grants -- it hit the grant family like a bombshell. they were financially devastated. had invested heavily in this firm. the whole family had. now they had to find a way to make money. grant felt personally responsible. he really encouraged his family and others to invest in this firm. even though he was a victim, he

felt personally responsible. and he wanted to pay back his debts. the grants were in a difficult situation financially because of this financial scandal. they packed up and moved up to the new jersey cottage in the summer to figure out what they were going to do for the future to rebuild their lives financially. grant was approached by century magazine at this time, a big magazine company, to write some articles. now, grant had been pestered to author for many years, but always resisted. because other people had written about him. he did not think he would be much of an author. he was a very modest man. most of all, he didn't need the money, either. they had him in a corner now because he did need the money. they offered him $500 per article to pay the basic bills. so grant started writing

articles about the civil war in the summer of 1884. at the new jersey cottage. that is when his writing career began. that was a way to bring in some money. but there was going to have to be a larger work of literature to be able to bring his family out of the debt they were in. grant started his writing career kind of shaky. his first article was seen as more of a dry, military report. the editor even went so far to remark that essentially it may disaster of shiloh because it was on the battle of shiloh and this may be the shiloh.isaster of so it was a very poorly written article. but interestingly enough, this visit grantdown to at the new jersey cottage and talked with him freely. said to grant, would you tell me a little bit about the civil war? grant started telling him stories and anecdotes about the

civil war. he told grant, that is the material people want to read. so grant really came into his own as an author in the summer of 1884. but by the end of the summer, he started to as well an idea that writing career could produce maybe some more money for his family. around the same time century magazine was ready to make a push to get him to write a larger book that could be sold. century magazine told him they would publish it. started to work on it as they returned to the new york city 1984,n the winter of 1985. 1884 and 1885. when grant was writing his articles in 1884, he started to have this throat pain. it started with a very bad sting in the back of his throat that he felt when he was eating a peach. he kind of shrugged it off as

wasp or something on the fruit when he ate it. but it kind of persisted, it kept coming back. he they ignore it, because his regular doctor was away in europe. he really wanted to see his regular doctor. so he ignored it and said he would see his doctor in the fall essentially. they did not think much of it at the time. he had been a smoker since the cigars, of cigars, smoker's it was just throat, is had a in a called it at the time. he continued with his writing career until the fall of 1884, the he finally went to doctor. when they went back to the new york city home. he ended up going to his regular doctor, who knew there was a serious problem as soon as he looked at his throat. he sent him to a throat specialist, dr. john douglas. he went into dr. douglas' office. his throat looked at

and grant looked at douglass' cancer? said, is it the doctor had to tell him it was cancer. grant worked on his memoirs in the winter of 1884 to 1885. towards the spring of 1885, it was really touch-and-go. of near-deathe experiences. and his doctors believed the only way he would survive long enough to finish his book was to get him out of the city, which was humid and dusty and hot, to a mountaintop environment, which they did with a lot of ailing people in that time. they were looking for opportunities. and a friend of the family, joseph drexel, approached the doctors and the grant family to offer them the use of his cottage he just purchased on the or, justunt mcgreg above saratoga springs. the cottage mr. drexel offered

to the grants was fairly modest in size, but had six rooms upstairs and a few rooms downstairs. it had originally been a small inn built by the first owner of mountain, duncan mcgregor. it was moved to accommodate the thension of the resort in early 1880's and the resort was expanded to the point where was a 100-room hotel above the balmoral just the cottage. the whole property was turned into a big victorian wilderness resort, you could call it. mountaintop wilderness resort with wonderful overlooks and pathways. and obviously wonderful air. there was one advertisement for the balmoral hotel that said, if fever,t cure your hay your stay is free. so mountain air was seen as curative at the time. when grant and his party left

of york city, on the morning june 16, 1885, grant was in very poor condition. the day he arrived, it was incredibly hot on his trip up very difficult. although once he got off the train and came up to the cottage, he immediately got changed, came back out on the porch, and the cool air of the mountains seemed to really revive him, and seemed to have a good effect on him right away. most importantly, he was able to be with his entire family here at the cottage. so we will head into grant's bedroom. this is where grant would have come in from the outdoors. now, one thing you will notice that is missing here is a bed. normally there is a bed in the bedroom. unfortunately, because of

condition, he had to sleep sitting up in these chairs here. would have his feet on one side, sitting up in the other. this is where he would work when the bugs or heat chased him in. this is also where his nurses had threectors -- he doctors on call and two nurses -- who would administer or try to give him some nourishment. it was hard to get him to eat condition.roat these items were provided to the mr. drexel. by these two chairs did come up from new york city with the grants. in fact, grant rode on these from new york city on the train. because mr. drexel left this to become a memorial, grant's son left his father's personal belongings here. we have some very personal items that show that grant was here. and he was at home here.

and that he went through some very tough times here as well. we have his food bowl and spittoon. we have hairbrushes, toothbrushes, stockings. his clothing here. the beaver head he is wearing in the photograph taken here. we also have the food mashing process hised to food so he could try to take some nourishment. very difficult, though. what is a really interesting item in this room is grant's original medicine is still here, originale with the substance. most people would guess what they were using for medication is something like morphine or a heavy sedative like that. only problem was that grant couldn't take medicine like that because it was too powerful and wouldn't be able to concentrate working on his book. so the doctors settled on a controversial substance of the time. it was cocaine. ist you see in the bottle

actually cocaine. they would stir that up and apply that on his throat give him a little bit of pain relief so he could ofp concentrated on the work finishing his book for the sake of his family. when grant arrived, you can imagine. this man was internationally famous. so the train car behind his family's train car was the press corps. when they found out grant was dying in march of 1885, they kept up a 24-hour vigil. they followed him up to the camped outre and across from the cottage in tents. they would run to the hotel to send wire telegrams down to new york city. they opened the hotel early when june 16.s arrived, so there was a lot of activity up here and people knew grant

here. he was in the papers every day. he was a spectacle, you could say. so before secret service, the only person that volunteered was a civil war veteran about the grant, sam willet. he was a local civil war veteran in his early 60's. he volunteered. for him a tent up behind the cottage. he ended up being grant's bodyguard. bottom of thee stairs near where grant worked would tellage and he people move along and guarantee privacy. grant made sam's job difficult, though. grant was such a friendly man that he would always tip his hat and wave and was very friendly. thing about grant. he was a very unassuming man. him andd sit next to not know he was famous. no matter the money or fame, he

was never changed. he was a simple man, always approachable at times. sam actually got frustrated. he said to his oldest son, to fred, can you tell your father to be less friendly? he is making my job difficult. so sam went to fred. his father ando told him the situation. i think what grant said next really shows his true character. he said, i don't want to be exclusive, let them come. in the fall of 1884, there was buzz in the literary community about grant writing a book. one of the people that was interested in publishing the than century magazine, that had already made clemens, was samuel better known by his pen name, mark twain. he had just started his own publishing firm, and had self- published "huckleberry finn" in 1884. so he shows up at the grant

household. he had been a casual friend of grant since the civil war. and he showed up just as grant was starting his memoirs. he asked the general, can i look at your contract? he said later on, i don't know whether to laugh or cry, it was the worst contract i had ever seen. it was only offering 10% of the profits. he said, that is totally inappropriate for a man of your stature. he said, i've got a publishing firm. i can offer you 70% of the profits, an incredibly generous offer, especially for a man known to be ill. grant was an honorable man, and he said century magazine came to me first. twain pulled an ace out of his pocket. he said, general, if you conversation a few years ago, i asked you to write then.emoirs

grant eventually went with twain's offer. it was impossible to refuse. nephew-in-law his running his publishing firm, called charles webster. of hiss the name nephew's -- it was calls charles company.nd him and charles webster came up with a plan to sell the memoirs door to door instead of selling them in bookstores. so they would arrive and take preorders from folks door-to-door. one thing mark twain wanted to do was provide an opportunity for civil war veterans to be salesmen. he would request civil war veterans to don their uniforms the republic of uniforms to go door to door. grant himself was a focus of his time. he was a celebrity. so having him writing the book was good for sales, but actually

veteran comel war to the door, as well, helped to sell them, as well. sales andr to-door there were many salesmen engaged country.cross the it allowed them to make money for themselves and support their old commander in his final hours. twain came to the cottage a few weeks before grant passed away. it was an important meeting. twain was checking on the progress of the book, but for grant, the most important thing was to find out how well it was selling. he knew time was short and he to find out if the book would be a success. twain told him proudly, i have already presold 100,000 copies, even canvassed two-thirds of the country. so grant knew going to his grave that he succeeded taking care of family. by the time he reached the cottage, mark twain thought the second volume of his memoirs was

completed. but grant was a perfectionist. he still had writing in him. as long as there was life in him, he would keep writing. he wrote at least another chapter to his book. it was a struggle to the very end. but he kept on it. he wanted the book to be as good as possible. no matter what his physical condition, he always tried to work on the memoirs. some days he couldn't get out of the bed physically. other days he wrote 30 to 40 pages in one single day. to give you an idea of the scope the memoirsct, would eventually be 1200 page, words.300,000 this is a major project for someone in good condition, may be an expert writer. but for someone struggling with cancer, this was an incredibly heroic effort for the sake of his family. now, grant worked until his last few days before he passed away. he finished his book and he

down to thetaken overlook, eastern overlook, for valley. view of the by the time they arrived at the cottage, grant was in very poor condition and they knew he did not have long to live. so his son, fred, said to his father, would you like to lie down? chairs forleeping in months. they brought a bed from the hotel and placed it in the corner. grant was surrounded by his loving family here on the evening of july 22, 1885. he saw that their faces were anxious. he whispered to his doctors, i don't wish anyone to be alarmed on my account. his final wishes were that his family be comfortable. but cameent up to bed back down the next morning just before 8:00 as he passed away on this bed on ago.23, 1885, 132 years

his son fred walked over to the mantle clock and stopped it at 8:08 in the morning to mark the time where his father passed. it hasn't been touched since. it is a symbol of the time capsule this place has been kept all these years. other than leaving a legacy for the country, the history of his life in the civil war, he also left his family an amazing financial legacy. the memoirs went on to sell over 300,000 copies and bring in $450,000 for the grant family. in today's money, that would be between $10 million and $11 million. that allowed them to get out of debt and live comfortably for the rest of their lives. so he really succeeded in his final battle here at the cottage, his final devotion for his family.

almost immediately after grant's passing, the owner of the mr. joseph drexel, decided that this place would be memorial to u.s. grant. so things were left just as they were when the grant family left. and it's been kept that way for the last 132 years. that is why i think this cottage is so important to keep the way it is, and to maintain it, because it is such a compelling story, and it really gives you that wonderful insight into a relatively misunderstood figure history, ulysses s. grant. our visit to saratoga springs, new york, is an american history tv exclusive. we showed it to introduce you to c-span's cities tour. years we've traveled to u.s. cities bringing the literary scene and historic viewers. our you can watch more of our visits c-span.org/citiestour.

weekend, c-span's cities tour takes you to newport, rhode island. of our coxlp communications cable partners, we'll explore newport's rich scene and historic sights. watch c-span's cities tour of island, nexte weekend on book tv on c-span2 sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span3. working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. [captions performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday morning, we'll discuss the possibility of congress reviving legislative earmarks with citizens against waste president thomas schatz and krista case the christian science monitor will talk about efforts

the city of st. louis, missouri, to improve race relations after the riots in ferguson. and chris walsh talks about jeff sessions' decision to reverse federal marijuana enforcement policy. be sure to watch "washington a.m.al" live at 7:00 eastern saturday morning. join the discussion. on c-span, our recent interview with energy byretary rick perry followed our conversation with house speaker paul ryan on the newly bill. tax reform from earlier this week, supreme court oral argument on ohio's from removing inactive voters from registered voters list. down with energy secretary rick perry as part of with trumpews administration officials. he talked about his family and his political career, including years as governor of texas, the role of the energy pa